Since When Did You Love Me?
by Ariadne Athena
Summary: MWPP. L/J love/hate. You-know-who. Hogwarts. Need I say more?


Since When Did You Love Me...A/N: Hello reader. Ariadne here. This is my first   
MWPP L/J love/hate fic. I'm warning you, there will be some L/S (Yes,   
Lily/Sirius) and a decent amount of snogging in this fic. The beginning is   
mainly from James' POV, but then it kinda changes to everyone's POV so If you   
like it, please review, and I'll continue this series. Also, I'm working on   
another series, called 'Into the Light' right now. It'll (hopefully) be up soon,   
as I am in the middle of my mid-terms right now and right now it's about 1:30am.   
Pity me. Luv, Ariadne.   
P.S. I REALLY need a muse right now, or my stories will get worse and worse.  
  
SINCE WHEN DID YOU LOVE ME?  
Prologue  
  
Sunrise, 2nd July 1971.  
  
11-year-old James Potter woke with a groan and a yawn to the sounds of birds   
chattering in the trees outside his room and the breeze blowing gently through   
the long grass. He tumbled out of bed, put his glasses on and looked at himself   
in the mirror. His jet-black hair was much messier than usual (and that was   
saying a lot!) and his brown eyes were bloodshot.   
  
'Oh, man! When is mum going to stop dragging me along to those stupid parties of   
hers?' he said softly to himself. The night before, his mother had taken him to   
one of 'those stupid parties' at her friend Lisa Bones' house. James didn't mind   
parties, but one, there had been no girls, two, Lisa was a health food nut and   
three, it had not finished until almost 3 o'clock in the morning. Not that James   
minded staying up late in the least, mind you, but the party had been rather   
uninteresting.   
  
Just as James pulled on an old T-shirt, there was a tapping at the window of his   
room. He yanked on a pair of jeans and sprinted to the window. A brown owl was   
sitting there, and it flew in the second that he opened the window. There was an   
envelope tied to its leg, so James quickly untied the letter from the bird's leg   
and took the owl back to the window. The brown owl flew out of the window and   
into the horizon.  
  
James quickly turned his attention back to the letter the owl had dropped. He   
was familiar with owl post, his parents both being magical, but still his hands   
were shaking as he flipped over the envelope.  
  
There, in the top right hand corner was a shield with a snake, a lion, an eagle   
and a badger on it. Underneath the shield were the words Hogwarts School of   
Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
James gasped, and then tore open the envelope. He pulled out two sheets of   
parchment that had been folded in three. One read,  
  
  
To Mr James Michael Potter,  
  
It is our pleasure to inform you that you have been accepted into Hogwarts   
School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find attached a list of all books and   
equipment you will need. We await your owl by no later than July 31st.  
  
Yours truly,  
  
Albus Dumbledore  
  
Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
James could not believe his eyes. He grabbed the sheets of parchment, flung open   
his door and raced down the stairs just as his mother, Vanessa, called out,  
  
'James dear, your breakfast's ready!'  
  
James arrived in the kitchen just in time to see his father, Justin, walk   
groggily into the warm, bright kitchen.   
  
'Mum! Dad! I got an owl this morning and it says I've... I've been accepted into   
Hogwarts!' he yelled.  
  
'Congratulations, my boy. Your mother and I went there too, you know,' Justin   
Potter said, with a twinkle in his sea-blue eyes. He was a tall, lean man, with   
the same messy black hair and glasses as James. Vanessa was a slim woman with a   
petite figure, long brown hair and James's brown eyes. She and Justin had met in   
their first year at Hogwarts and fallen in love in their fourth year. They had   
married the day after they finished their seventh year, and James had been born   
a year later.  
  
'Excellent, James. Now eat your food and then you can go out and play a game of   
Quidditch with your father!' admonished Vanessa gently. She had known this was   
coming; Albus Dumbledore was one of their close family friends and had told her   
and Justin that James was, indeed, going to attend Hogwarts.  
  
James shovelled the blueberry pancakes and syrup into his mouth, then grabbed   
his new, top-of-the-class Comet One-Fifty and raced out the door.  
  
'Just like his father,' commented Vanessa, and shortly afterwards, squeaked in   
surprise when Justin grabbed her around the waist and kissed her deeply.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
Later that week, James stood again in front of his full-length mirror. He   
fiddled with one side of his hair, then the other. He and his parents were going   
to Diagon Alley to pick up James's books, but to James it seemed like the first   
social outing of his life. When his hair was somewhat under control with the   
help of almost half a bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion, he straightened his   
glasses and went downstairs.  
  
His parents were already by the door. James grabbed his own broom from the   
cupboard under the stairs and they all trooped out the front door. James hopped   
on to his broom, and his parents climbed onto Justin's Comet One-Fifty. Then,   
with a wave of his mother's wand to make sure that the Muggles didn't see them,   
they were off into the clear morning sky.  
  
About 30 minutes later, the trio landed in front of The Leaky Cauldron. Vanessa   
removed the anti-Muggle charm and they quickly walked into the little pub.  
  
'Hi, Ben. James here has to go to Diagon Alley.' Justin said to the old   
bartender.  
  
'Sure, Justin. Follow me,' he answered, and led the three to the back of the   
pub. He took out his wand and tapped a particular brick...  
  
...And an archway opened, displaying scores of people hurrying around Diagon   
Alley, some in wizard robes and others in Muggle clothes. James noted that these   
were mainly the children, as he himself didn't particularly like wearing the   
dress robes that his parents had gotten him for his tenth birthday. On the   
equipment list, though, it said that they had to wear black robes to school.   
James sighed. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad...  
  
The first place that they went to was Flourish and Blotts, to get James's new   
books. As James went around the corner of one ancient bookshelf to get a copy of   
'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' by Newt Scamander, he ran into two of   
girls about his age.  
  
'Sorry about that,' he mumbled.  
  
'That's okay, we should be going now, right, Arabella?' said a (rather pretty,   
in James's opinion) girl with long, flaming red hair and bright green eyes.  
  
'Yeah, let's go, Lily,' answered Arabella, another (rather pretty) girl with   
shoulder-length mahogany hair and mischievous grey eyes. The two turned around   
and walked down to the counter.  
  
'Bye!' called James after their receding backs. Just as they rounded the corner,   
James thought he saw Lily (the redhead) take out her wand and whisper something.   
He thought he felt a tingling on his scalp, but ignored it as he tried to locate   
the book he was looking for.  
  
James found the book and went back to where his parents were waiting amid gales   
of laughter. By the time he reached his parents, they were in stitches.  
  
'What's so funny?' James demanded.  
  
'James...your hair...' gasped his mother, conjuring up a mirror and pushing it   
towards James.   
  
Even as he took the mirror from his mother's hands, James realised that   
something was seriously wrong with his hair. It felt strange...and then he   
looked in the mirror.  
  
James screamed.  
  
His once messy, black hair was now neatly combed. That would have been all   
right, except for the fact that it was now bright pink and wavy, with the odd   
flower here and there.  
  
'Ooooohhh, if I get my hands on that Lily girl...' he started, and then trailed   
off as he saw her coming towards him. She was the only one in the room   
(excepting James) who had a straight face.  
  
'Gotcha,' she whispered as she brushed past him...  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
10.15 a.m., 1st September 1971.  
  
James was nervous, and it scared him. He wasn't the type of person who got   
nervous easily, so when he did he was not happy about it. He was actually   
nervous about two things, whether he would be in the same year as that Lily girl   
and if there would be any boys his age. James chided himself for that second   
thought; of course there would be boys his age.  
  
Vanessa called to James to get downstairs so that they and Justin could get to   
King's Cross in time to catch the Hogwarts Express at 11 o'clock. They went by   
broomstick, so James' mother could use James' broomstick and Justin could use   
his own.   
  
When they reached the train station, half an hour later, James' parents gave him   
directions to get onto platform 9¾ and left, saying that they 'had urgent   
business to attend to'.   
  
*Oh well,* thought James, *so much for fond farewells.*  
  
He found the barrier and went through, bashing himself and his trunk against   
another boy in the process. The other boy, who had black hair as well except   
longer, simply moved aside and pulled James toward him.   
  
'Hi, my name's Sirius Black. What's yours?' the boy asked, his hand extended for   
James to shake.  
  
'I'm James Potter' answered James.  
  
The two found a carriage on the train and sat down, and were almost immediately   
joined by a tired-looking boy with brown hair and a pudgy, blonde-haired boy   
who, (in James' and Sirius' opinion) looked remarkably like a rat. The newcomers   
introduced themselves as Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They were talking   
about their families when there was a sudden jerk, and the train started moving.  
  
The train had been less than ten minutes out of King's Cross when the carriage   
door opened and admitted the two people James least wanted to see.   
  
Lily and Arabella.  
  
'What are you doing here?' yelled James. He was incredibly mad at Lily for   
turning his hair pink.  
  
'Whoa, calm down Jamesy, you'll scare the pretty birds off,' said Sirius.   
Obviously, he was not the only one in the carriage who was surprised (Remus' jaw   
was practically hitting the floor) when the girls walked in.  
  
'C'mere, you, the hot carrot-top!' Sirius commanded.  
  
'Sure, gorgeous. Anything to get away from old four-eyes over there. And the   
name's Lily. And I do not have green hair.'  
  
It was James' turn to have a jaw-dropping moment. *My God, he's such a flirt,   
and she's no better* he thought.   
  
Sirius caught James' expression.  
  
'I know her, okay? She's my girlfriend. I met her at Diagon and we've been   
seeing each other since'  
  
James abruptly picked up his trunk and hat, and was hurrying out of the carriage   
when a pair of hands that were stronger than they looked pulled him back. Grey   
eyes stared into his before her lips hit his. He pushed away and glared at the   
owner of the grey eyes. It was Arabella.  
  
'How dare you...you...kiss me without my permission!' he yelled.  
  
Arabella had a very hurt puppy-dog look on her face, as if he had slapped her   
and she was about to cry.  
  
'All right, all right, I'll stay. But no soppy stuff!' James gave in. He just   
hated to see people he knew cry because he was being a jerk.  
  
Lily and Sirius left the carriage, saying that they 'had stuff to do, people to   
meet'. Outside their carriage, Lily grabbed Sirius' hand and whirled him around,   
  
  
'Why the hell did you say that I was your girlfriend?' she demanded.  
  
'Coz James looked like he was gonna murder you.' Sirius muttered.  
  
'He probably would, after what happened in Flourish and Blott's,' Lily answered.  
  
'Why, what did you do?' Sirius asked.  
  
'Well, I thought he might look kinda cute with pink hair, so let's just say my   
wish came true.' Lily declared with pride.  
  
'You're a natural, Lily! What's next?' Sirius said gleefully, his brown eyes   
twinkling mischievously.   
  
'How about that oily little kid over there,' Lily pointed towards a small, pale   
boy with greasy black hair and a hooked nose.  
  
'Sure, tell you what, we'll paint him white as we get to Hogwarts, okay?' Sirius   
said. He suddenly pulled her closer and kissed her full on the lips.  
  
Lily was surprised, but returned the kiss with just as much enthusiasm. She had   
met this guy a bare half hour before, but had fallen in love with him instantly.   
That jerk James could wait...  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
  
Back in the carriage, James had fallen asleep, with his head unknowingly resting   
on Arabella's shoulder, who herself had fallen into a light slumber.  
  
As the train started to slow down, Remus woke the two up. They promptly   
disentangled themselves from each other and sat at opposite ends of the bench,   
looking the other way. James looked like he was about to blow up at Remus and   
Arabella, but just before he exploded the carriage door opened and Lily and   
Sirius walked in, holding hands and looking very smug indeed.  
  
'What were you two doing?' James demanded, sounding remarkably like his mother   
when James had 'disappeared' for a while.  
  
'Wouldn't you like to know,' Lily stated, her emerald eyes alive with mischief   
and laughter.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
Three weeks later…  
  
'SIRIUS! I demand to know what you are doing here in my dorm at 6am on a cold   
morning!' yelled Lily.  
  
'Shush! I was going to talk to you about a great prank we have planned for   
Halloween,' he whispered, obviously determined not to wake up all the girls in   
Lily's dorm.  
  
After the Sorting, in which Lily, Sirius, Arabella, James, Remus and two boys   
named Mundungus Fletcher and Peter Pettigrew had been Sorted into Gryffindor,   
James had 'accidentally' let off some of his Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start,   
No-Heat Fireworks, causing absolute pandemonium in the Great Hall at Hogwarts.  
  
That had been the start of a prank 'war' with Lily, Arabella and Mundungus   
pitted against James, Remus, Sirius and Peter.  
  
Right now, though, Lily wanted to know why in the world her boyfriend was   
telling her, sworn enemy of the boys, plans for that prank.  
  
'Well,' replied Sirius fervently, 'We agreed that it would be easier setting up   
the prank if we have more people…' His voice trailed off at the sceptical look   
Lily was giving him.  
  
'You really expect us to join you in, I don't know, blowing up the school?   
What's in it for us?'  
  
'This,' Sirius said, leaning forward to kiss her. In the next bed, a muffled   
sound could be heard under the blankets, as if someone was laughing at them,   
hard.  
  
'I hate James,' Lily said after they ended the kiss. 'One moment he's telling me   
that he never wants to see me again, the next he's asking me to join his little   
club in helping him blow up the school.'  
  
'Women,' Sirius muttered, giving Lily a hug and leaving her dorm so Professor   
McGonagall wouldn't catch him.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
A/N: You like? Then review and tell me so, and also what's wrong/right with it,   
etc. Seeya soon, Ariadne.  
  
  
  



End file.
